Even in death
by Lucia-Theresa Horizon
Summary: Naruto just wants to give up. Sasuke doesn't want Naruto to give up, but instead they break each other's heart once again. [Character deaths. OOC. Please review!]


Of course, I own nothing besides this story. Naruto and Sasuke belong to each other XD (but of course, you won't find any pairing here. I don't intend to let it become a romance fanfic anyway. Sorry SasuNaru and NaruSasu fans. Including myself, which is a bit pathetic. Haha). Sasuke is very, very OOC in my opinion but please deal with it.

* * *

'_Exhausted. Disappointed. Betrayed. Miserable. Hopeless…'_

He growls, ignoring the slight ache in his fingers as he practically rips the paper he is writing on – or to be more exact, _scratching_ – in shreds. A fraction of the thin sheet graces his palm with a small cut, leaving a trace of blood trickling down the table – well, not that he cares anyway, not so much because his healing ability is exceptional due to a certain demon fox but because he simply cannot feel the pain.

His focus on his own well being, or lack thereof, is a far cry from helping.

Thick, black lines filled with jumbled kanji gradually fight off the remaining blank areas of the paper sheet as he scribbles away his agony. Hell, he is certainly not a girl and does not have any interest whatsoever in keeping a dairy; but sometimes life can be a bitch. And if he could not find a way to release his anger without waking up the creature within him, all hell would break loose and he is not even remotely sure he could keep himself from destroying everything that dares come near his sight in that case.

The last time he used the cursed power, it nearly crushed the entire Konoha – which unfortunately was undergoing a reconstruction due to the Forth Great War at the time (it did cost him a great deal of sanity to listen to Tsunade's constant yelling and put up with Sakura's inhumanly devastating fists afterwards) – and if Yamato hadn't been there to stop him, he would have mercilessly taken down not only the enemies but also even his allies. He does not want it to happen ever again.

All of that effort to put a stop to the war, establish wonderful relationships with all the people and rebuild his village; all of those sleepless nights going over strategies after strategies, reading jutsu scrolls and gathering as much information as possible; and he still has not been able to bring a certain raven back home.

Maybe Sasuke does not consider Konoha his home anymore, he thinks. Maybe that shouldn't even _be_ a 'maybe'. Sasuke has done a good damn job showing everybody that he has already severed all bonds he once shared so far, including the one with Naruto. But the blond knows better than that. Or so he likes to think.

He knows that deep down he really wants the old Sasuke back, so that he doesn't have to suffer from the unbearable solitude he has always carried on his shoulders from the day he was born. He knows that deep down the present Sasuke still needs a friend, so that he can get rid of the loneliness that has stretched on far too long, rooted too deep inside his conscience, making him blind to all but revenge. But he also knows that he can't beat some sense into his rival any longer. Sasuke, or rather, the both of them are seriously beyond saving. The person he once called his best friend is long gone, drowned in his own darkness. And he? He lets himself sink to the bottom of despair, becomes a total wretch, fakes his smiles every day and cries his eyes out every night. He has realized, ever since he was a little kid, how much the raven means to him and he is not ready to let go. Yet.

Sasuke is the only missing-nin left that no hidden village has managed to catch after the war, despite countless squads of ANBUs being sent out on the field for that sole purpose. Naruto hates to admit it, but he does not know where his old best friend has gone either. It's like the last Uchiha has vanished from the earth, leaving no evidence behind to show that he did actually exist. Hell, Naruto probably wouldn't be too surprised if somebody told him the raven had been kidnapped by aliens or had committed suicide by burning his own body to ashes.

Finally satisfied with all sorts of names for every negative feeling he knows on the paper, he drops the pen and heads straight to his soft bed. It was kind of nice when some villagers offered him a new set of furniture for his new-built house, he muses. However, he has made the stupid mistake of building an excessively large apartment, which he is fairly certain would multiply the emptiness inside his heart by thousands and thousands whenever he thinks of Sasuke.

He was lucky no other friend besides Neji died in the war. Naruto does not even want to imagine how it would feel losing more than that and at the same time not being able to locate his best friend.

He is tempted to give up though.

The promise he made with Sakura years ago barely holds any meaning now. Even the pink-haired medic-nin herself has told him to loosen up and accept the fact that Sasuke won't come back no matter how hard they try. And Sakura has never been a good liar – he could still see the pain in her eyes, that feeling of helplessness and despair – but he can tell she really meant those words.

Is it about time he gives in to fate now?

Alright, he is starting to sound grudgingly like Neji a long time ago.

Big mistake. _Oh damn it, I can't think of him, of the way his eyes shone when he jumped in front of Hinata and me, of how he greeted death with so much peacefulness on his face -_

He is going to lose it at this rate. The guilt is eating him alive, and he can barely feel his thread of sanity going thinner and thinner by day.

Sasuke, of all people. Why did it have to be that stuck-up prick, good-for-nothing bastard, arrogant moron who had tried to end his life more than once? The number one surprising ninja could only guess that it wasn't his most intelligent moment to choose an Uchiha – the last of them, no less – to be his friend. Then again, was he ever intelligent comparing to his teammates?

He sighed, snuggling closer to his second pillow while resting his head on the first. The comfy bed did nothing to prevent a single tear from rolling down his whiskered cheek.

He never wanted it to be like this.

Would Sasuke be any different from now had he managed to break all his bones and bring him back when the raven was running to Orochimaru for power?

He laughs softly despite the sobs threatening to escape from his throat. The council would have wanted to execute the missing-nin right then and there, and Sasuke wouldn't have been able to live long enough to shove another Chidori through his chest (though the raven did miss Naruto's heart again, much to his own amusement) in the war. Is it good or bad? He does not want to know.

If that bastard of a friend isn't willing to come back, so be it.

Deciding that he has had enough brooding for the night, Naruto shuts his eyes and tries to lure himself to sleep. Tomorrow is going to be a long day.

* * *

Konoha is just as peaceful during the day as it is at night. However, due to the sudden decline in population after the war, there are not many guards while the citizens are sound asleep. Most of the ninjas assigned are new to the job; the way they occasionally doze off has totally given that fact away.

And he would just use it to his own advantage.

It has been quite a long time since he last set foot in here, not to mention all the changes made during and after the war. Leaping from roof to roof, the silent figure quickly makes his way pass several residences and buildings, hoping to arrive at his intended destination as soon as possible. He does not really want to get caught in the middle of the night just because he isn't fast enough to trick the eyes of all the ANBUs he knows would easily detect him had he not cloaked his chakra carefully. He is not interested in fighting those ninjas, since it would cost him his time and he still could not afford to be recognized. The words "Kill on sight" he earned himself in the bingo book of every village are not for show after all. They might as well have him beheaded if he did not take the initiative and hid his presence from miles away.

The scratched hitai-ate in his pocket makes itself known to its owner quite loudly; its metal bar keeps clanking against the hard surface of his sword in spite of the cloth between them. Now and then, it would remind him of their last battle. He had retrieved it from his opponent without thinking before fleeing from the spot, leaving behind a bleeding mop of blond hair and a weeping medic.

He knew they would survive, so he did not look back. But the real question is: why didn't he kill them? And now, why did he even manage to drag himself back to the place he used to call home?

As much as he wants to ignore it, something akin to nervousness and confusion mixed together still creeps up his spine and gives him a light shiver. He cannot comprehend why he bothered to come back in the first place, and not for just anyone but that knucklehead. There are quite a few interesting theories he is entertaining inside his prodigious head. One, he may have gone insane. Okay, that surely never happens – or so he thinks, since insane people don't even know they are insane – so that one is down, at least… for now. Two, someone strong enough has caught him in a genjutsu – or ninjutsu or whatever – that allows the user to manipulate his thoughts and actions. Then again, nobody dares do that kind of dangerous jutsu anymore and the people who might have the nerve are six feet under, so this one is a big no-no as well. Three, it may have something to do with that bottle of sake he drank from earlier. But he isn't remotely drunk, so…just no. No. N-O.

_Then what the heck is wrong with me?_

He shook his head, trying to drive every crazy idea out of his mind. Well, he could always turn to reasons later. For now, he has to find _him_.

Obviously, the person he is seeking shouldn't be staying at the same apartment after what this village has gone through barely six months ago. The task should be easy. He has inspected four-fifths of the houses already. Only one-fifth is left.

Lucky him. Most of that "one-fifth" is (or used to be) occupied by two residences: the Hyuuga and the Uchiha. He is quite certain that his target does not live inside the former, so he looks out for the rest. After searching for a short while, his senses pick up a barely recognizable amount of familiar chakra to the far back of the village.

So _he_ is there.

He jumps down from the rooftop and starts running.

His pace comes to a halt just before he reaches his destination, though. His onyx eyes widen in shock as the scene slowly works its way up his nerves and clings to his mind like parasites. The realization has been a moment too late.

Naruto chose to rebuild a small quarter of the Uchiha mansion and seems to be living there. More specifically _(rubbing on his face, what tastes salty and sour and bitter and maybe _just a little bit_ sweet)_, Naruto chose the part where his old house used to stand.

Merely saying he's shocked is a horrible understatement. Why the bloody hell would his ex-teammate choose to live _there_? Either this is a half-ass attempt to fool him, or it may just be too damn real for his liking.

Memories begin to flood his mind with disconnected, blurry images as he stands solemnly in front of the mansion's crumbled gate. Part of him wants to force the ghosts of his past to go away, _far far_ away. Itachi is dead. His anchor, his brother, his guardian…is dead. And those eyes _(those accusing blue, blue eyes filled with agony and loneliness just like his)_, those eyes keep staring and staring and _staring_, unnervingly and obstinately, until he has to look away in shame. Those eyes that haunt him in his sleep and haunt him in his wake; those eyes that scream at his entire being _why did you have to go?_

He barely feels his chest tighten.

Gritting his teeth, he walks slowly along the empty streets of what used to be his shelter.

He has to kill that man. That man with those disturbingly blue, blue eyes. That's right; that must be the reason why he went here.

Maybe, those eyes will not bother him anymore after that. Maybe, then he will be free. Just maybe.

But he has to try.

* * *

"_Oi, teme!"_

_He did not have to turn his head around to know who it was. Not bothering to reply, he continued his training session, kunai ready in hand._

"_Oi, I'm calling you, teme! Why aren't you answering?!"_

_He stopped, grunting in annoyance._

"_What do you want, dobe?" He barely kept himself from shooting an infamous Uchiha glare in the direction of his blond teammate._

"_Oh! Uh…" Okay, now the dumbass was fidgeting. He silently wondered what had gotten into Naruto's stubborn head. "I was just wondering if…if… we could train together, you know… hehe…"_

"_Go away." He deadpanned. If there was anything he hated besides his brother, it was being disrupted while he was practicing._

"_But…!"_

"_Go away." He deadpanned again._

"_I will treat you to ramen later!"_

"_Go away." It was the third time already. Which part of "go away" did Naruto not understand?_

"… _Hey Sasuke-teme, are you scared to spar with me or what? Hah! I knew it, you are afraid to go against ME!"_

"…" _He flashed his undeveloped Sharingan and threw a shuriken at the center of his irritation. If that did not make the idiot learn, so be it. He couldn't care less. He had to get stronger to defeat Itachi._

"_TEME, WHAT WAS THAT FOR?!"_

"_For being such a dobe. Now get. Out. Of. My. Sight." He accused, not forgetting to pass a sideway glance – or more exactly, glare – to the other boy. _

_Normally, that would be the end of it and the blond would just walk away mumbling something incoherent about stuck-up Uchihas under his breath, leaving Sasuke to himself. But this time, Naruto did not disappear into the woods or shout at him with obscenities. He just…stood there. In a very, very uncomfortable silence._

_Sasuke inwardly sighed. "Now what?"_

_The other did not reply. Instead, he slowly lifted his head to reveal devastatingly blue eyes now simmering with something like…_

_Tears?_

_Sasuke could have sworn he saw droplets of water running down his so-called rival's face, but the blond had quickly turned his head and started running away._

_He stood dead on track, his mind raving through numerous reasons that could explain the dobe's peculiar behaviors. He came up with nothing, except for the fact that he had just turned down said dobe's offer to train together – which had never, ever resulted in a (possibly) crying Naruto before._

_This day was just getting weirder and weirder._

_Out of curiosity (the raven would never admit he did feel a bit sorry for whatever he had done), he decided to quietly follow Naruto to wherever he went. If anything, stealth was a necessary part of the training too. He saw Naruto calm down and decrease his speed as the blond tried desperately to wield the tears away. So Sasuke hadn't been seeing things after all, much to his relief, but the fact that Naruto was actually crying startled him a little. He had never seen Naruto this wretched before. The dobe was supposed to be a loud-mouthed idiot, not like this -_

_Thud._

_A brown object landed in front of him, and he realized a second later that it was a squished banana._

_Another, then another one rained down on the street on which he had been following his teammate. Sasuke watched in silent horror as Naruto let the villagers throw all kinds of staled food and even rusty knives and scissors at him. The dark-haired boy had never witnessed any type of treatment more terrible than this bestowed upon anybody. _

_Then he remembered his childhood._

_From what he could remember, Naruto had always been alone, despite being a small child in need of protection. Sasuke had been left behind, traumatized by the massacre. They were the same – swallowed by the darkness of solitude._

_However, while all Sasuke had ever received were praises and cheers, Naruto only had himself to shoulder all the hateful glares and humiliation._

_Yet, the blond somehow still managed a crooked smile on his face as he continued to jog to his apartment, unaware of his rival tailing behind him. By the time Naruto reached his make-shift shelter, Sasuke was more than pissed and ready to throw some punches at the ungrateful villagers who happened to wound his teammates. He did not actually do that, per se, but he was mad as hell._

_Suddenly Sasuke wondered why he felt mad. If he did not care, why should he be angry for that idiot?_

_Unfortunately for him, Naruto chose that exact moment to watch out for any other threat and found Sasuke gazing at him from the rooftop about two blocks from there. The number one hyperactive ninja dropped his jaw, his eyes the size of plates and his eyebrows started twitching uncontrollably as he stared at the dark figure above him. Was he hallucinating? Why was Sasuke standing there? The raven had never visited his house before – well, as if he would let anyone other than Hokage-jiji and Iruka-sensei in – and he was pretty sure he had never given away his address either. There was only one logic answer: Sasuke had been following him all the way from the training ground. Oh joy. That meant the damn teme had seen him… _

_Naruto cursed under his breath._

_The boy in question hopped down from the roof and walked towards his astonished teammate. Sasuke took a look at the apartment's condition: full of furious words ('demon brat', 'loser', 'go die', and many others) painted on the walls, the pale blue door had been nastily unlocked and pulled off its hinge, and he could see from the shattered windows that there was a total mess in every room. The fresh smell of paint indicated that whoever had done this must have left not too long ago._

"_Ehehe…" He turned around to find Naruto scratching the back of his head, a sickly fake goofy grin plastered on his mouth. "Guess you have found my house, huh?"_

"_Dobe, what the fuck is the meaning of this?" He frowned, waiting impatiently for an explanation. "Why didn't you tell anyone about… about how they treat you? Why didn't you tell __**me**__?" His dark orbs narrowed dangerously, the last word coming out of his throat slightly more high-pitched than usual._

_Once more, Naruto remained quiet and suddenly seemed to be very interested in the ground below, the smile slowly drained from his tanned face._

_Sasuke couldn't help but pity his blond teammate, who looked as if he was going to burst into tears any moment from now. He decided to postpone the question until later on, when Naruto was ready._

"_You… WHY DO YOU EVEN CARE?" Naruto shouted at him out of the blue. "ALL YOU DO IS MOCKING ME, TAUNTING ME, PUSHING ME AWAY, AND TELLING ME OVER AND OVER AGAIN HOW WORTHLESS I AM! SAY, WHY DO YOU CARE AT ALL YOU BASTARD?!" The blond huffed, catching his breath, blatantly ignoring the shocked look Sasuke was giving him. "Nobody ever cares anyway… Not Sakura-chan, not Kakashi-sensei, and certainly not you…!" His voice grew smaller as he spoke and broke at the end of the sentence._

_Sasuke had had enough of this._

"_Dobe, look at me." Naruto did not look at him. "Look. At. Me."_

_All he got was a peak from the other's wavering eyes._

"_Damn it." The raven muttered. "Look, dobe –" He paused, suddenly aware of Naruto's eyes bearing onto his own pools of black. "…Naruto, do I look like I don't care?"_

_He could see the blond's eyes widen for a fraction of second, then harden again._

_Eventually he said, "You always have."_

_No shit._

_For once, Sasuke knew Naruto was right. He himself could not explain his own actions when he decided to follow the other boy. However, there was no turning back now._

"_I may have," he started, mentally kicking himself. "But am I looking like that __**now**__?"_

_This time Naruto truly looked at him. He could not read the swirling emotions behind those eyes, but he was sure if he messed this up he would forever lose his teammate. He did not even know the reason he was so scared of losing the blond, but then again, he had lost too many important people and he would not forgive himself if he let go of another one._

_Since when had he considered Naruto one of his important people?_

"… _I guess not." The blond finally concluded; his gaze softened considerably._

"… _Hn."_

_As he stared at Naruto's genuine smile for the first time, Sasuke found himself at a loss for words. Neither said anything about the incident afterwards, but the raven had made sure his blond teammate went home safely whenever he could (preferably without him knowing), and the blond always got an excuse to come over the raven's house just to announce him about something as stupid as free ramen and keep him company, although their conversations mainly included Naruto's constant babbling and Sasuke's trademark "Hn"._

* * *

The memory seeps through his body as he walks, painfully stabbing him with nostalgia. He is not supposed to feel this way. At this rate, he would never be able to deliver the killing blow on his target.

Naruto Uzumaki.

The blond idiot (to him he would always be an idiot, no matter how much he's grown over the years) must be sleeping at this ungodly hour, he muses. From a distance he could feel the breathing – _in, out, in, out_ – of his former teammate. Several ideas flash through his mind as to how he would assassinate the only man that matters after his family died out one by one.

He does not realize he has clenched his fists so hard the knuckles have gone white and his nails are beginning to cut his palms.

The hitai-ate clanked, once again making contact with his katana as he walks and not so gently reminding him of the battle so long ago; the battle that bore a scratch on this forehead protector he is carrying, the battle that marked the official loss of whatever left of his heart and soul, the battle he relived every single day in and out of Orochimaru's lair whether he wanted it or not.

In the same battle, he declared Naruto his best friend.

In the same battle, he could not bring himself to kill Naruto in a desperate attempt to live a different life from his brother.

In the same battle, Naruto's blue, blue orbs had looked at him with so much sorrow and grief he swore he could have willingly turned right back to the direction of Konoha had the blond managed to force him to stay still – which meant breaking each and every of his bones, just like the blond promised he would do – and listen to his speech, those eyes staring at him all the while.

In the same battle, he realized – before everything took off straight to hell, before he turned himself into a heartless monster, before he left behind his teammates and sensei to seek power – how much Naruto could affect him, making him whole and alive again.

And now, he is going to kill him. He briefly wonders if he is trying to take his own life instead of his one-time rival's before he continues his trip to Naruto's new home, eyes fierce with determination. No, this time would not be the same. This time, he would put an end to the life of one certain hyperactive ninja, and hopefully also to the haunting he has been suffering from.

"_Those who do not care about their teammates are even worse than trash."_

Naruto just isn't his teammate anymore. No one is, and no one could ever again, not in this lifetime.

He is alone.

Does that make him worse than trash, too?

Casting the question aside, he gingerly drags himself to the blond's house. His hand almost knocks at the door. Almost.

Back then, he was the one politely knocking the door and Naruto was the one doing the exact opposite – letting himself in without warning. He mentally curses his own existence for not being able to get rid of the habit after so many years.

Suddenly, the door flies open, nearly knocking him over if not for his excellent reflexes. He curses again.

He was so distracted that he never noticed Naruto's chakra signal coming down from the stairs. So much for an elite Uchiha. Itachi must be chuckling (he never laughed) his ass off right now if the older man is somehow watching from the sky, Sasuke mourns.

He is torn between running off and staying to fight his ex-teammate one last time, but he cannot look away from the person standing on the doorstep, a more than surprise expression stuck on his face.

Naruto has changed, he muses. His blond hair is as unruly as ever, considering he has just gotten out of bed, but his eyes are…duller, as if something inside those blue pools has lost along the way and died. The raven had expected them to be more _alive_ than this.

To his astonishment, Naruto's gaze lowers – his eyes still bearing heavily into Sasuke's black, black pools – and his voice rings through the air like a cutting blade.

"Why are you here, _Uchiha_ ?"

No more Sasuke. No more teme. Only Uchiha. His cursed surname.

Sasuke decides he doesn't like it, not one bit.

"To kill you, of course." His own deep voice breaks the silence, a small smirk forming on his lips.

_Swish._

A kunai is pressed perfectly against the smooth skin of Naruto's neck, drawing a thin line of blood just as Sasuke finishes his sentence. The raven's shadow clone has done exactly according to the plan.

But all Sasuke gets from his former teammate is a snort.

"Seriously, Uchiha?" he laughs in disdain. "Here I thought you have learnt better and come back for good."

There is a poof, and the Naruto in front of him blows up in smoke. He suddenly feels something sharp pressed against his own neck and realizes his sword has been stolen. "Now who is killing who, I wonder? Your intelligence must have declined over the years because as soon as you activate the Sharingan or flare any kind of chakra, the whole _village_ will know you are here. And I will _not_ be the only one restraining you, you know."

"…Hn." Alright, maybe he was truly crazy when he decided to take on Naruto inside Konoha. He did think of the situation in which Naruto is awake, but he passed it by.

Big mistake. What's more, Naruto's voice is deadly cold and distant. Long gone is the happy, cheerful nuance that he used to hear. Long gone. It is no longer meant for him.

"Now tell me again. What are you doing at my house?"

It's Sasuke's turn to snort.

"Are you deaf or haven't you been listening? I want to kill you."

"Why do you want to kill me?"

Sasuke hesitates for a split second. "… Because I don't need another tail."

"Well, for your information, I haven't been assigned any mission regarding you ever since the war ended; and even if I have, I would never agree to take it. Not again." His voice reduced to a whisper. "I give up, Uchiha."

Say _what _?

Uchihas do not gasp, so he doesn't. But he once again finds himself at a loss for words.

A part of him – the smug, arrogant, stubborn side of him – is relieved since he did force the blond to give up chasing after him. He knows he should feel that way. But he doesn't.

There is another part of him. Oddly enough, it is screaming for forgiveness, begging for Naruto _not_ to give up on him, ever.

Sasuke doesn't know which side to choose, so he chooses none.

If his expression or behavior is any indication of his barely contained shock, Naruto has recognized it. The blond chuckles darkly, the katana hanging dangerously near the raven's neck. "Oh, if only I knew you would willingly give yourself up like this… I would have tied you up and handed you to the ANBU headquarter. But then I would have to spend a few weeks after that debating with the council to save your life, which I don't really feel like doing anymore. So to make this quick -"

"Why are you in my mansion?"

_Be calm, Sasuke. Be calm. You will get away from this, just like you have a million times before._

"_Your_ mansion?" The raven earns himself another disdainful laugh with the only difference being a tint of bitterness hidden in it. "Who said it's yours? You haven't lived here for ages, Uchiha, and Tsunade baa-chan was thinking of of putting the entire mansion on sale. I just happened to be the first to get a hand on the matter."

"There are plenty of other places." Sasuke grunts. This is going to take longer than it should. He has to somehow tackle the blond's mind and wear out his determination. It's dirty, but trust the raven on doing whatever it takes to reach his goal. His assumption is that (however cliché it sounds) the blond still keeps a part of what Sasuke used to be inside his heart. Naruto has been alone most of his life and now that he gets to build a new home, he would want a place where he feels he isn't so lonely anymore.

This place, after all, used to hold many memories of them together.

He isn't sure why, but his own heart clenches at the thought and his mind is flooded with memories yet again. The memories he had made certain to seal away during all those years training under Orochimaru.

"So what? It's cheap, for it's in the outskirt of the village. No worries about the distances because I have too much energy to burn off. Never fear thieves because no one cares to wander in here anyway. Is that enough of an explanation to you?" Naruto pressed the edge of the sword harder and harder until a red liquid makes its way down his once best friend's collarbone.

"What if I say you still hold on to what's left of our 'bond', dobe?"

There he said it. _Dobe_. The old, old insult.

He can't see Naruto from this position, but behind him, all colors are draining from said jinchuuriki's face at an alarming speed.

Then he hears a feral growl that shatters his hopes.

"Don't you dare think you can use that little nickname to fool me! You're not the Sasuke-teme I know. You're not my best friend, my brother, my comrade. You're a fucking _stranger_, Uchiha. Heck, I couldn't care less if you die. So just… go. Go somewhere far away. Don't bother coming back and dirty this place. I have had enough of trying in vain to save you and living in regrets."

This can't be happening.

He knows he won't be forgiven anytime soon, but did not expect such an answer.

This _can't_ be happening.

"What's wrong, you almighty Uchiha?" Naruto questions mockingly. "I just let go of you. Shouldn't you be on the move already before I change my mind?"

Sasuke barely manages to catch his katana thrown at his direction. His ex-teammate did, literally, let him go and push him away.

He flees.

* * *

Sighing heavily, Naruto takes off his sandals and sits down on his bed, his face buried in his tanned hands. He has completed his perfect act. Fortunately, he could sense the missing-nin's chakra from the gate of the village with the help of the Sage Mode and think of a plan just in time.

To be honest, he had almost lost it at the end of the conversation. Sasuke had hit him dead on. He wanted so bad to just knock the raven out and lock him up, so that he could never leave his side again, and he had a very good chance to do so. He didn't.

Sasuke would never be home even if his body were here anyway. That Sasuke is dead and gone.

And he is just a fool, letting himself to be used and tossed around like a dispensable object.

For the first time ever since the great war, Naruto Uzumaki screams his lungs out in pure despair, knowing he would never be able to heal from this wound so large on his heart.

* * *

About five miles to the north of Konoha, in the forest, Sasuke Uchiha stabs himself to death. The next morning, his corpse is discovered by a group of Leaf jounins going on patrol.

No one knows what made the rogue nin suddenly decide to commit suicide, but in the end, it doesn't really matter. The only criminal left from the war has finally surrendered to the Death God. Hidden villages begin signing treaties after treaties, and peace is blessed upon every nation.

There is a rumor spreading like wildfire through the Hidden Leaf that Sasuke Uchiha's teammate, Naruto Uzumaki – the nine-tailed jinchuuriki, the war hero, one of the most promising candidates for the seat of Rokudaime – has failed miserably on a test of stability and endurance, which has truly put his possible promotion in jeopardize. Disturbingly, the number one surprising ninja doesn't even seem to care.

Sakura and the rest of what used to be the Rookie Nine hardly see the blond outside his house except for when he is on a mission. Some of them have tried to convince him to open the door, but he wouldn't let them in. Tsunade is heart-broken, but in the end she is left with no choice and appoints Kakashi Hatake as the next Hokage under the pressure of the council.

Naruto Uzumaki is simply not Naruto Uzumaki anymore. He is broken beyond repair and shattered to pieces.

He joins his best friend three months later, drowning himself in the lake near the used-to-be Uchiha mansion. It was where they met for the first time, recognized each other's sadness, and smiled in true understanding.

Even in his death, Naruto had always been searching for the friend he lost.


End file.
